Corporate : Corporatestake to Integral Humanism

Pandit Deendayalji had predicted the gloomy future of Capitalism and Socialism and had suggested a middle path of economic development avoiding the prabhava (over influence) and abhava (absence) of the wealth, to which modern CEOs seem to be  taking avidly

Dr T V Muralivallabhan

Some of the Trillionaires, Billionaires and Millionaires have more  annual turnover than the national income of many countries in the world. According to the Report of the Global Justice, the value of top 10 corporations was $285 trillion beating the $280 trillion worth of bottom 180 countries. “The vast wealth of power of corporations is at the heart of so many of the world’s problems—like inequality and climate change,” said Nick Dearden the director of Global Justice. But a change is emerging in the attitude of the so-called
corporate giants. They have decided to become responsible to the
society, nature and above all to themselves by wedding to the three ‘Ps’—Profit, People and Planet. Profitability of the industry, responsibility to the society and sustainability of the planet are the catch words of
modern corporate world.
Deendayalji’s Vision
All wise people whether economists, political scientists or social reformers, have emphasised the dependence of man on nature. If there is no planet, there is no society and if there is no society, there is no corporate.  Pt. Deendayalji predicted about the gloomy future of Capitalism and Socialism  and introduced an Indian alternative development model to the world,
integrating profit, people and the planet. He proposed a middle path of economic development avoiding the prabhava (over influence) and abhava (absence) of wealth. Now a recent method of avoiding both the over influence and absence of wealth is adopted by the Corporate World in the form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).  Through Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013, when the Indian Government made the   CSR  mandatory for both public and
private companies, the objective was to avoid the adversities of the extremes of wealth conditions. The activities covered under the CSR policy include an
integrated human development in the country for achieving reduction in income inequality. Many of the corporate CEOs have declared to give away a portion of their wealth to charity by supporting programmes for
removing poverty, unemployment and preservation of culture, etc.

The central idea of Integral Humanism (Ekatma  Darsan) is that while humanity and the entire
animate and inanimate nature around men are full of almost infinite diversity,  all have got a common atma. The diversity is superficial. As there is common atma, all things naturally are cooperative and
complementary. This is expressed by the word ekatma. Thanks to the recent shift in the dimensions of
corporate governance, new policies and approaches are making them holistic in vision and integrated in mission. The world has become one for corporates, not in terms of profit only, but, in terms of responsibility and sustainability as well.
Evolution of CSR
CSR only entered popular lexicon in the 1950s with R Bowen’s land mark book   Social Responsibilities
of Businessman. Before 1950s state intervention to regulate economic activity were widely accepted as economic orthodoxy. Ralf Nader, an American
political activist, author, activist in consumer
protection, environmentalism and Government causes, introduced the term Corporate Welfare in 1956. It was intended to study corporate subsidies to welfare payments of the poor. Between 1950 and 1980, along with the social activism in the US and in 1960s with the demand for environment and labour standards,  a new approach towards business activity emerged.
The first widely accepted definition of CSR by Archic Carroll covered the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities came in the 1970s. The 1980s brought the application of quality management to occupational health and safety and the introduction of CSR codes like responsible care. The 1990s witnessed radical changes in the world of governance, both corporate and state. Environmental, economic and Social Sustainability (SD) became the trio goals of development all over the world. This was also reflected in the corporate polices and thus along with CSR, sustainability also became an inevitable part of global corporate governance. The orientation towards sustainable value in terms of human, social, environmental and economic capital is the crux of CSR. Thus the CSR performance of a company is measured by the triple bottom line, which consists of three areas—Social, Financial and Environmental. It is the sustainability aspect of CSR that pushes the
corporate world towards social and environmental responsibility  and brings it to near an ever green promise of prosperity and progress. CSR has now adopted “Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility”. This change acknowledges that
sustainability (with roots in
environmental movement) and responsibility (with roots in social activist movement) has made CSR more holistic. In the words of Wayne Visser, an expert in CSR,  “these have become the DNA of CSR”.
 India’s Contribution
“India has around 2 per cent of world’s millionaires and 5 per cent of world’s billionaires, and it is also a home to the highest population of undernourished in the  world. This contrast of excess wealth and
destitution is a motivation factor to give” says Chandrika Sahai, coordinator, Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace. Behind this contrast, comes the feeling of oneness out of which charity comes—an Ekatma bhav. Wipro Chairman Azim Premji says India has always had a tradition of Philanthropy. He is considered India’s most charitable billionaire, having donated more than Rs  63,000 crore since 2001, most of it towards improving education through his foundation. He adds that those who have wealth are really trustees of wealth, and not its owners.
Ajay Piramal, chairman of Piramal and Shriram Group has donated Rs  3,000 crore for primary education, youth empowerment, health and access to water in 21 states. He prefers to work in partnership with the Government. Since 2009, India has added over 100 million donors, large and small according to Bain and Company’s Philanthropy Report. The corporate CEOs are now
practising the real Deendayalji approach—compassion towards the poor—along with  developing
business.
International Charity
Saudi Arabia’s billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal pledged his entire $32 billion fortune to charitable
projects over the coming years. Along with him so many other international CEOs are also following the same path. The following list makes clear the amount spent by each CEO for CSR and charitable expenditures:

Bill Gates    :    $76 bn
Warren Buffet    :    $ 58.2 bn
Michael Bloomberg    :    $ 33 bn
Mark Zukerberg    :    $ 28.5 bn
George Lukas    :    $  4.9bn
Ted Turner    :    $ 2.2 bn

The Philanthropic Pledge Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has donated 2,90,000 shares of  her Facebook stock worth 31 million
dollars to charity, according
to Securities and Exchange Commission document. The shares are now in Sheryl Sandberg Philanthropy fund. She plans to give it to anti-poverty efforts and
educational groups. Charity was by and large motivated by religion and spirituality…..very often charity was linked to business interests and practices. Studies by Rudner(1995) and Bayly (1983) have clearly shown that religious giving was often linked to social credit worthiness and this in itself was self reinforcing and self-fulfilling.  Hence it can be considered as a quid pro quo basis. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of FB said, “progress now requires humanity coming together not just as cities/nations, but also as a global community.” He speaks of a social infrastructure – may be relations or connectivity. Here we can see the move towards the feeling of
oneness, just like members of one  family—Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam
Richard  H Thaler,  the Nobel
laureate in Economics, (2017), is a pioneer in applying Psychology to economic behaviour—behavioural economics. He works in the Chicago’s Booth School of Business. He said, “In order to do good economics you have to keep in mind that people are human.” Here economics is reaching the realm
of Meta-economics  beyond
economics, to a realm of ethics,
culture and values. This is a concept very close to Deendayalji’s Arthayam, where fiscal discipline is ensured through ethics and morals.
According to Arthayam,
abundance of wealth and scarcity of wealth are equally unjust for a happy society. It is just like the Pranayam which regulate the body and keep it in good health. Arthayam envisions an economy where an individual is able to satisfy his natural desire of entrepreneurship with independence. But at the same time it should be
balanced by the state control also. As per Arthayam the state  should play  a self regulatory and responsible role. As per Deendayalji, “unlimited use of wealth for material pleasures and
uncontrolled use of political power cause mental, intellectual and
spiritual deterioration in individuals as well as in society. When economy and politics go together in this
direction, destitution is the result.” The middle path of Deendayalji is between the  demand directed supply in Capitalism  and power (state) directed production in Socialism, is an attempt to avoid the downfall of humanism and culture. According to him, there are two types of
relationships—man to man
relationship and man to wealth (nature) relationship. Concentration of wealth by the corporates— whether public or private—are not helping social welfare. The modern CSR is an attempt to deal these issues.
 According to Deendayaji,“ Our economy should be such that humanness would ascend, that it will not ever disappear, and further that we march from our human
consciousness towards the
consciousness of Godly existence. This goal should govern the
activities in planning, regulation control and institutions in the economy.”
In 2005, a series of articles
published in The Economist,
castigated corporate responsibility as a folly of managers. In 2008 again when CSR was featured in The Economist, 96 per cent of the
managers believed that CSR offered value for money and 56 per cent agreed that it deserved a high
priority. This is because lopsided accumulation of wealth by few
corporate have resulted in the
abundance of wealth.
Modern Initiatives
The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the world’s largest
sustainability initiative is there to encourage businesses, state and civil societies to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies. Nick Dearden, the Director of Global Justice says that the vast wealth and  power of corporations is at the heart of so many of the world’s problems – like inequality and climate change. Research result of a coalition of 10 African and UK based NGOs (Common Dreams) finds that while an estimated $134 billion flows into the continent annually through a combination of loans, foreign
investment and aid, African nations loose approximately  $ 192 billion in profits of MNCs as well as through tax evasion and climate fight. After a critical evaluation of these policies of corporates, international agencies stipulated strong CSR policies.
CSR is the biggest opportunity both for the public and private sector to contribute to nation building
efforts by making an integrated
effort through using financial,
human, infrastructure, technical,
administrative and organisational resources. Sustainable development and inclusive growth are the broad objectives of CSR.
From Vyashti to Samashti
Charity attempts of modern CEOs seem to be reflecting in the thoughts of Deendayalji. They attribute their wealth to Almighty and say religious and spiritual values inspired very much to this noble quality. These values have raised them above mere acquisition of profit to welfare of society. The CEOs have grown beyond themselves (Vyashti) to society (Samashti), with a sense of responsibility and then to protection of environment (Srishti), and again to the Almighty    (Parameshti).
Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, who has pledged to give away around Rs. 5,000 crore when he turns 60 in 2020 says, he was inspired by his Philanthropist father, who was very pious and
religious. Infosys co-founder and tech billionaire Nandan Nilekani and his wife Rohini Nilekani have joined    “The Giving Pledge”, an elite network of the world’s wealthiest individuals, created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, in 2010, where these people have committed to give half of their wealth. The Giving Pledge website uploaded Nilekani’s letter signing up for the cause. The letter said, “We thank Bill and Melinda for creating this unique opportunity to realise the moral
aspiration inspired by the
Bhagavad Gita:
Karmanye vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana,
Ma Karmaphalaheturbhurma Te Sangostvakarmani

“We have a right to do our duty, but no automatic right to the fruits from the doing. It is critical that we do not slip into inaction fearing that we may not be able to reap direct reward. It s to this ideal that we pledge.”
They have also given away about 10 per cent of their current net worth to ‘Arghyam’ foundation that she
set up in 2001, which works on
water sanitation. Thus, here the
individuals/institutions are expanding themselves to Samashti and Srishti levels and from there through
philanthropy to Parameshti level also. When corporates begin to feel that they are mere custodians of wealth, there comes a spiritual dimension to Corporate Social Responsibility.
These activities are beyond the profit consideration of the business houses. Here, factories/companies/
corporate become the temples where ‘work is worship’. Workers are devotees. When work becomes
worship, automatically production increases. This production is
relevant to those who are outside (consumers/customers) the temple and inside (workers) the temple. In such a situation, as Deendayalji visualised, “the whole society
should develop and simultaneously
individuals should develop in all aspects. This is the governing
principle. Therefore in our view, society and individuals are indivisible, cooperative and complementary.”
(The writer is  Independent Director
MSTC, Kolkata )